Most children in the United States are returning to school after the summer holiday．Public education for children in the United Sates is free．But parents still have to buy things such as new clothes，bags and other supplies for their children before every new school year．

8，000 Americans took part in a study．It said that this year American parents would spend almost 15 billion dollars preparing their children for school．

The study also found that 93 percent of families with school age children plan to buy clothes，shoes and school supplies．Each family will spend almost 500 dollars on those things．This is 7 percent more than last year．Almost half of questioned parents also said they planned to spend about 100 dollars on electronics(电子产品) and computers．

Half of the parents in the study said their children would use their own money to buy some things for school．Teenaged children arc expected to spend about 85 dollars each for supplies．23 percent of parents said that even their younger children would buy some things for themselves．

To help shoppers save money，several cities let people buy some goods without paying sales tax．Washington，D．C．，is such a city．It has a ten—day sales tax holiday in August．At that time，people can buy clothing，shoes or school supplies that cost less than 100 dollars without paying sales tax．

1．How many children plan to use their own money to buy school needs?

A．Seven percent of them．      B．Twenty—three percent of them．

C．Ninty—three percent of them． D．None of the above．

2．How much did each family spend last year on children’s school supplies?

A．535 dollars．    B．465 dollars．    C．565 dollars．   D．435 dollars．

3．Shoppers can save money            ．

A．in special days    B．in all big cities

C．during holidays   D．when the things cost $100

4．We can learn from the study that         

A．8，000 parents will spend about 15 billion dollars for their children’s school life．

B．93％ of the American families have school children．

C．500 dollars on children’s clothes，shoes and school supplies is necessary for a family．

D．7％ of the families want to spend 100 dollars on computers and electronics．

5．The best title of the text would be“             ”

A．Children’s Costs in the United States．

B．Children’s Study Plants for the New Year．

C．Public Education in the United States．

D．New School Year，New Supplies and Costs

During my childhood in the 1960s, my parents were always busy with work and meetings. They left early in the morning and came back late in the evening. My sisters, my brother and I were left alone with Grandma. We saw our parents only on Sundays and during the few holidays. The only long period （一段）of time during which the whole family could be together once a year was the Spring Festival. We missed our parents badly, but didn’t say so because we had been told that hard work was everyone’s duty and that we could not have our own small family without a big family.　　  Later I was a hard working student and, during summer or winter holidays, often stayed alone at university to have more time to study. I was always encouraged by my parents, for whom the holiday was less important than “work” and “study”. Holidays were a waste of time and I felt as if I had done something wrong if I took a holiday or did nothing during a holiday.

I spent the most difficult period of my life abroad. But when I joined this company, my boss didn’t seem to think it right for me to work like that. When I called him at home after office hours for business purposes （目的）, he politely told me that he preferred talking about work with me in the office.

When the holiday season came near, he asked me to plan my leave beforehand （提前）. He talked with me about his holiday and also asked about mine. For him, leave was a right.　　  Giving up a holiday for the company is encouraged in China, but is foolish here. I began to think about holidays.

Today my parents are retired （退休）and stay home with a lot of time for their children. But we are all grown- up and live far away. We miss each other, but we cannot afford to see each other very much and they often feel sorry for the fact that they were too busy to be able to take care of us when we were young.

Nowadays, Chinese take long weekends and have paid holidays. But do they use their holidays to enjoy family life? I hope so because my experience in China and Europe has helped me understand that work is not my whole life and that a family is also very important. I do not want to feel sorry in the future as my parents do and I certainly spend as much time with my son as possible. There is nothing wrong with either working hard or taking holidays, but we shouldn’t have one instead of the other. It is important to keep a balance （平衡）between work and play.   

1. What do the underlined words “paid leave” mean?

A. You have to pay when you take a holiday.　　 

B. Someone will pay for your holiday.　　 

C. You are still paid when you have your holiday.　　

D. You can’t leave until you pay for the holiday.   

2. What is the main idea of this passage?

A. Working is the only part of the life.      

B. Traveling is the best way to spend your holiday.　　 

C. Enjoying holidays is as important as working　　 

D. Sharing happiness with your family is more important   

3. The writer talks about her own experience because she hopes that the Chinese will _______.　　  A. plan their holiday beforehand　　  B. get used to long holidays and enjoy themselves　　  C. give up a holiday for their work　　   D. bring business home after work hours

Do you have any plans for the Project Hope? Why not spend your time helping others? Don’t listen to people who say that young people today often think only of themselves. It is not true at all. More and more young people in China volunteer(志愿) to spend their school holidays working for others. And they don’t do it for money. Here are some of their stories.

Li Ping, 17

I’m going to help the Forest Center build new hiking paths(山间小路) in the mountains. I’ll spend the whole summer living in a tent(帐篷) and breathing the clean mountain air. I’m going to sleep under the stars. It will be a nice sport, and I’ll be able to do something good at the same time!

Wu Dong, 18

This summer, I’m going to take part in the Spring House Program. They build good, low-cost houses and sell them to families that are not very rich. I’ll help them and they will teach me what to do. I also have a chance to learn how to build houses.

Liu Hui, 16

I’m going to teach children who have difficulties in reading. I’ll work for a program called Reading for Life. Every day, I’m going to help children choose and read books that they like. I love children and reading, and I want to be a teacher. So this is going to be a great experience for me.

1. More and more young people in China ___________.

A. like to help others on school holiday　　　 B. want to make more money by helping others

C. only think of themselves　　　　　　　　 D. have no plans for the Project Hope

2. Li Ping’s plan for this summer holidays is to ___________.

A. living in a tent　　　　　　　　　 B. helping to build hiking paths

C. sleeping under the stars D. breathing the clean mountain air

3. Which of the following about Wu Dong is WRONG?

A. Wu Dong likes reading very much.　　 B. Wu Dong’s family isn’t very rich.

C. Wu Dong is the oldest of the three. D. Wu Dong is kind.

4. Liu Hui will work for Reading for Life because he can _____________ there.

A. play with children　　　　 B. read more books　

C. can help children read D. look after the poor children

5. Which is the best title (题目)for this passage?

A. The Forest Center　 B. Reading for Life　 C. Young Chinese Volunteer D. A Special House Program